(Fort Hood contributed nearly $30 billion to the Texas economy in 2019, according to the Texas comptroller's office.). Is it possible Elder killed himself ? From this inauspicious start, Killeen grew into a proper military town and is now home to six strip clubs, 18 pawn shops, 35 dollar stores, and 38 tattoo parlors. Fernandes was dropped off at his friends house the next day, never to be seen again. Soon after, the Temple police, who led the investigation, ruled Fernandes's death a suicide. Wedel-Morales was thrilled to become a father. Beyond the base, gas station attendants and restaurant servers, many of whom were veterans or had ties to the military, all seemed resigned to certain fates. Fernandes's family told me they have never been interviewed. ), On July 3, a fortnight after Wedel-Moraless body was found, Specialist Miguel Yazzie, 33, died at Fort Hood after his repeated requests to see a doctor were denied, according to Carma Johnson, whose brother died at Fort Hood. Soon after, the Temple police, who led the investigation, ruled Fernandess death a suicide. Military bases are the last piece of the homeland that soldiers see before they are deployed to fight and the first glimpse of home when they return. There was a deep cut above his left eye, and cuts all over his legs. Fort Hood hurriedly put up a $25,000 reward for Wedel-Morales as well. Military bases are the last piece of the homeland that soldiers see before they are deployed to fight and the first glimpse of home when they return. He ultimately murdered her when she was eight months pregnant, then set her on fire before fleeing to Mexico. All are former soldiers. Boots and hat at Vanessa Guillens memorial, Killeen TX, Jeffrey Epsteins Decades-Long Relationship. (He was found a day later.) After he returned to Fort Hood, Rodriguez managed to get Casteel on a video call. The additional scrutinythe congressional delegation visit, press toursmeant that soldiers had to work harder. The rolling, semi-arid terrain is ideal for multifaceted training and testing of military units and troops. Wedel-Morales was thrilled to become a father. There had been a few people, then it was a group run of 11. Subscribers have complete access to the archive. Why was Robinson not put under watch? Lenz was found dead at Fort Hood on Feb. 1. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. In a press statement, Fort Hood officials said Hockin, 26, was initially found unresponsive outside of the barracks and was subsequently pronounced dead. Just before noon, Guillen left her keys, Army ID, and bank cards in one arms room and entered another adjacent arms room, separated by a hallway. But at Fort Hood, it sometimes seemed like "mission first, equipment second," he said, highlighting the paradox of the military that in word puts the well-being of soldiers first but in deed must, by design, favor combat readiness over all else. She is now for the movement.. What happened on that base and in the Army to cause this person who is normally very [kind] and responsive to all of a sudden leave and shut down? The Armys own investigation found major flaws at Fort Hood, leading to the firing or suspending of 14 officials. Texas Death Records, 1890-1976 includes scanned copies of the death certificates Texas Death Records, 1977-1986 includes digitized copies of the death certificates; not yet complete. I have sponsored a a Change.org listing advocating renaming the post after Oveta . 5.2 (infant deaths per 1,000 live births) Life Expectancy (at Birth) 76.5 years (2020) Marriage Rate. (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) Nearly 200 miles away in Houston, Rogelio Guillen was entering his fourth hour of work at a nickel-plating factory when he felt a sharp spasm in his chest. Today, Reform Austin is attempting to put the entire chain of events into a concise timeline for our readers. The area, east of Killeen, was built on 109,000 acres of high bluffs, ridges, sharp slopes, and mesa-like hills covered with mesquite and chaparral. Robinson gave Guillen the serial number for a .50 caliber machine gun that needed servicing. A sergeant from Guillen's division called it "mandatory fun days." She filled out the paperwork that is the lifeblood of the Army before heading toward the arms room, a few paces away. Rodriguez disputes this claim. Guillens youngest sister, Lupe, made me promise to stay at the Marriott, a hotel she considered safer than the rest. SHARE. Ozempic is also used by adults with type 2 diabetes who have heart and blood vessel disease to reduce their risk of a stroke, heart attack, or death . Rodriguez sensed something was off. Far from itthe military was operating as it had been intended. Radically transparent, low cost versions of high cost generic drugs. Two witnesses had seen Robinson roll a black cargo box out of the arms room and through the parking lot, where he loaded it into his car and drove away, contradicting an earlier affidavit from three soldiers who falsely claimed they had seen Guillen departing the arms room earlier. The very next day, a Fort Hood investigation concluded that Fernandess charges of sexual assault were unsubstantiated. Later came Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese, who still run sushi and pho restaurants in Killeen. The shakeup comes after after a series of suspicious deaths and disappearances that have plagued Fort Hood. On May 19, military investigators went through Robinson's phone and learned that he had called his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, multiple times on the night of April 22, as late as 3:30 a.m., from a town 20 miles east of Fort Hooddespite his claim he had been with Aguilar that night. One of the first times she stepped onto the base, a rosary she had been carrying in the palm of her hand tore apart, its beads scattering over the concrete ground. (Facebook) Two weeks later, Delacruz . The Idaho Murders, Part 1: How 4 College Kids Lived and Loved. The new family, like more than 70 percent of all Fort Hood service members, lived off post, but after two dead bodies were found on their street, they moved into base housing. The base might have continued to devour its soldiers had it not been for a missing soldier's family whose rage, love, and devotion would attract the attention of the media, celebrities, and later the White House, sparking congressional and military investigations. It is unclear if Killeen even bothered to visit his namesake town, which, by the early 1880s, comprised 40 people living across 360 acres, mostly working in the two cotton gins, two gristmills, and two saloonsit had the most saloons, gamblers, and shootings per capita in Bell County, according to historian Martha Bowmer. That morning, Guillen had left her third-floor barracks and headed downstairs to her work station at the motor pool, a vast garage for military vehicles. How had he managed to escapeand where had he gotten his gun? In 2018, a soldier was allegedly shot and killed in her front yard by her husband at Fort Campbell, in Kentucky, which also has one of the highest rates of suicide in the Army. This memory now refreshed, Gloria began asking around for a name and soon learned it through Guillen's friend: Aaron Robinson, the last person to have seen her daughter. A few days later, so did 21-year-old Specialist Trey Ring. His body was found nearly a month later, two miles from the barracks. A group of soldiers, including Robinson, greeted them. In 1941, Private Felix Hall was lynched by fellow soldiers, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Fort Hood informed Rodriguez that he had asked for this. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. She pleaded not guilty. "What on earth are you training for?" Spc. So much of reporting is opening yourself up to chance, and there I was, compulsively locking and relocking the rental car door. The 2020 numbers add to ongoing mysteries, including a 2016 case where a corpse's hyoid, the U-shaped neck bone typically examined to determine whether strangulation has occurred, was missing. Thomas Berg, whose son Private Brandon Rosecranss Jeep was found burning in May, told me not to go out after dark. That September, Wedel-Morales, who was from rural Oklahoma, was due to be honorably discharged from the military. Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims' families. Linda Schweers, whose specialist son, Justin, died in a car crash in June while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, wanted me to "be careful of cartels," which she said ran the area. Nov. 30, 2022. At first, Aguilar told investigators, they cut her up using a machete. Texas Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemetery Burials by County. Last December, a Special Forces soldier and an Army veteran were found dead at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where another soldier disappeared in May and was later found murdered. Chee, like Yazzie, was a member of the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation community, and was new to the base. (The Boley case remains unsolved.) American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two counties in central Texas near an otherwise unremarkable town called Killeen. In death, Guillen has become a kind of patron saint for all those who feel wronged by the U.S. military. The suicides, which reportedly jumped by as much as 20 percent across the military last year, work out to a rate of one soldier a month. It installed 35 firing ranges, 18 chapels, three bowling alleys, and 1,384 barracks that would house, at its peak, 95,000 soldiers, the most densely populated military base, at a cost of $35 million. Failure to comply could incur fines of hundreds of dollars or other, more severe social censure. When Ailina offered the Fort Hood authorities the contents of her son's car, including a laptop, iPad, and external hard drive, they declined to investigate further. Stump was going 82 mph in a 30-mph zone, the investigation report said, and had hit a tree on a mound. Sgt. Specialist Vanessa Guillens father, Rogelio, wondered if I shouldnt carry a gun. That most soldiers enlist when they are still teenagers, their yet-unformed minds taught to kill. The soldiers said that Guillens belongings had been found in the arms room, but otherwise she had left no trace. The sense of dehumanizing alienation soldiers complained about was not a symptom of a malfunctioning system, it was its original design. Hazel Buck Blackwell, whose family lost their farm, homestead, barns, orchards, and adjoining land when the base took over, said the closest thing might be the unexpected death of someone you loved very much. It was a heartrending, searing experience, central Texas historian GraDelle Duncan said, leaving lifetime marks on all, and actually killing some from the psychic devastation that followed. From here, wars are launched. Had one of them stood in for Guillen during roll call? He had then driven the body to the Leon River and had come back to pick Aguilar up from the gas station where she worked on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, five miles east of Fort Hood. But with each encounter, it was becoming clear that the military had not failed its soldiers at all. The 2020 numbers add to ongoing mysteries, including a 2016 case . Guillen confessed that she was being harassed by another soldier. Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now. Thomas Berg, whose son Private Brandon Rosecrans's Jeep was found burning in May, told me not to go out after dark. Casteel had told Rodriguez "he was getting away from the abuse.". The Army's own investigation found "major flaws" at Fort Hood, leading to the firing or suspending of 14 officials. And on June 19, skeletal remains were found in a field behind a cul-de-sac of a residential neighborhood in Killeen. After 8 p.m., Guillen's sister Mayra called the base. The deaths were caused by varying reasons -- gunshots, car accidents and illnesses and all the deaths were under probe. First came the British and Germans. Guillen's youngest sister, Lupe, made me promise to stay at the Marriott, a hotel she considered safer than the rest. (Fort Hood does not count Moore in its official casualty list, as he was a member of the National Guard.). March 1, 2023 (94 years old) View obituary. Club Fuego where Gregory Wedel-Morales was last seen, Killeen Tx. Jennifer Anthony Lovells sister, Temple Tx. His mother, Kim, only heard from her son when he needed money. The U.S. Army on Tuesday announced the removal . She has become that complicated, indelible thing: a hero. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. Fernandes was dropped off at his friend's house the next day, August 17, never to be seen again. During the run, Chee, who had no preexisting health conditions, collapsed. They are part of Killeens population of 151,000, many transient and very young, two thirds of whom have military ties. But at Fort Hood, it sometimes seemed like mission first, equipment second, he said, highlighting the paradox of the military that in word puts the well-being of soldiers first but in deed must, by design, favor combat readiness over all else. The small Texas frontier town was also a hotbed of Klan activity, according to Texas historian Gene Preuss of the University of Houston, so much so that when trains stopped in Killeen, Black passengersrelegated to colored carsknew to pull down their window shades to avoid a pelting with rocks by locals. The purported motto of the Army was family first, mission second, Gary Shafer, a noncommissioned officer who served at Fort Hood from 2012 to 2018 and who knew Wedel-Morales through the car-club scene, told me. Washington CNN The Army announced Tuesday that 14 senior officers will be punished following a probe that was initiated after the murder of a soldier and several other deaths at the Army's. Rosecrans, shot four times, was found three miles from his vehicle. They pointed glumly to past cases, some of which there were public records for and others I could find no traces of in the official files. The police too told Ailina that Fernandes was an adult and that they would not report him as missing. It installed 35 firing ranges, 18 chapels, three bowling alleys, and 1,384 barracks that would house, at its peak, 95,000 soldiers, the most densely populated military base, at a cost of $35 million. Atop these sedimentary layers of desecration, displacement, and disorientation, the War Department set out to build a base that would go on to serve as a footnote to nearly every war in modern memoryKorea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but also Grenada, Panama, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The search party arrived at Fort Hood at 3 a.m. Guillens staff sergeant told the group to come back in the morning. 2023 Cond Nast. On August 17, Sergeant Elder Fernandes, 23, disappeared. Fort Hood is one of 800 United States military bases around the world, the third largest in the country. A U.S. Army soldier, Spc. Thirteen killed themselves. Bill to attend technical school in Houston to work on wind turbines or oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana. IMCOM is not responsible for the content of links outside home.army.mil. Namely, the military. The base was named after John Bell Hood, a Confederate general from a family that enslaved people in Kentucky, who made his name by breaking a Union line at Elthams Landing in Virginia and who, by todays standards, likely suffered from PTSD. Maxwell Hockin, 26, was. As publication approached, it stopped responding to emails pertaining to both specific questions about individual cases as well as broader queries about the base.). During the day, though, it was still hot enough that if you dropped a beer bottle, the contents appeared to dry on contact. This negates civic participation, as the state no longer needs to collect taxes and thus stops serving the people, who in turn have no need to pressure the government for anythingthe very dynamic that continues to play out in oil-rich Gulf states. Atop these sedimentary layers of desecration, displacement, and disorientation, the U.S. War Department set out to build a base that would go on to serve as a footnote to nearly every war in modern memory. Here are some of the tragic deaths that have plagued the base in recent months: Pvt. At least 159 Fort Hood soldiers died out of combat between 2016 and last year, including seven homicides and 71 suicides, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Army investigating after soldier, 26, found dead in latest in string of unexplained deaths at Fort Hood barracks Fort Hood officials have not released the cause of death for Maxwell. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. The 2020 numbers add to ongoing mysteries, including a 2016 case where a corpses hyoid, the U-shaped neck bone typically examined to determine whether strangulation has occurred, was missing. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. A soldier stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, was found dead over the weekend behind a barracks, according to local media reports, adding to the rash of deaths and disappearances of soldiers. That an overwhelming majority of the towns economy comes from Fort Hood makes Killeen a kind of rentier state, in that most of its revenue comes through a foreign entity, which historically has led to the collapse of domestic industries, leading to increased dependence on a single source of income. When his parents rushed to the hospital, they saw that Chee, lying unconscious, had bruises and scrapes on his chin and on both sides of his face. (The police opened an investigation on August 19.) On May 11, however, Fernandes reported to Fort Hood "abusive sexual contact" from a staff sergeant, whom he alleged groped him in a supply room, according to the redacted military investigation report. In January 2017, Fox News cited reports to say the Army and local police were probing deaths of 11 Fort Hood soldiers who died on and off the base in the months before under mysterious circumstances, as per reports. Nelda Lee Edwards. Why had it taken forensics 72 days to conduct a search of the arms room? = Link to a CAC-required sites . There had been a few people, then it was a group run of 11. A few days later, they spoke again, for the last time. ", "I'm 21 now, and let me tell you. Hoover, Alabama. = Link to a nongovernmental site. He refused to send a selfie or get on a video chat and began using a strange and unfamiliar speech pattern. Oct 29, 2021. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. It rained that night, and the drive, which should have taken three hours, was slow going. At first blush, such violence at a base that calls itself the Great Place may seem extraordinary, inexplicable even. The first week I spent in Texas that October, 22-year-old Lucas Hicks-Mack went missing on base. Its possible. In the same week, Private Edward Casteel, who had been missing from Fort Hood since October 6, was found in a parish jail in Louisiana, arrested after a high-speed chase. Texan sentenced to 20 years following drug-related death of Fort Hood soldier. Rodriguez disputes this claim. No skid marks were apparent, nor did anyone hear the crash. Toxic leadership is nothing new. The numbers are distressing. (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) Lenz's mother, Margie Taylor, said her son loved children and looked forward to having a family of his own one day. More than 2,200 trials over land rights commenced. By then Wedel-Morales had grown distant from his family in Oklahoma, who had not been told of the marriage. Why hadnt the arms room been treated like the crime scene it was? He wondered if it was something he had eaten and carried on with his shift. A sergeant from Guillens division called it mandatory fun days. The additional scrutinythe congressional delegation visit, press toursmeant that soldiers had to work harder. Hockin was found dead behind his company barracks. Thirteen killed themselves. In 1941, Private Felix Hall was lynched by fellow soldiers, at Fort Benning, Georgia. There, Wedel-Morales's remains had been found, long ago decomposed in the Texas heat. So when, the following spring, Fort Hood offered a $15,000 reward for information about Guillen, then raised it to $25,000 in June, Kim called to demand the same. US Army Since then, Vanessa's family and their attorney Natalie Khawam have tried to shine a spotlight on a string of deaths at the central Texas installation. Their minds both turned to Vanessa, whose hourly texts to family members had gone silent. Just before noon, Guillen left her keys, Army ID, and bank cards in one arms room and entered another adjacent arms room, separated by a hallway. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers vanished or died, including 13. FORT HOOD, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - U.S. Army officials at Fort Hood have identified the soldier who was found dead Saturday, Oct. 13 behind his company barracks. Barely a week later, Private Corlton Chee, 25, died during training. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. "I am astounded nobody is interested," the Fernandes family lawyer Lenny Kesten told me. The 20-year-old small arms specialist, then a private first class, was supposed to be off that day, so she showed up in civilian clothesblack tee, purple leggings, and a fanny pack. That American imperialism is imploding, and the blast force radiates inward. We believe that Every Life has a Story which should be told and preserved. -. His body was mostly intact but for his hyoid, which was never found. American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two counties in central Texas near an otherwise unremarkable town called Killeen. The next day, Wedel-Morales failed to show up for duty, and the day after that, he was classified as absent without leave, making him one of the thousand or so soldiers who go AWOL in any given year. Curiously, a few hours after the officers picked up Casteel, he went silent online. There she encountered Specialist Aaron Robinson, also 20 years old but a rank above. It rained that night, and the drive, which should have taken three hours, was slow going. 60.2 (births per 1,000 women 15-44 years of age) Teen Birth Rate. Before Fort Hood was built, the land was used for grazing by some 3,000 farmers and ranchers, according to Gerald D. Skidmore, a Killeen historian.
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